Conference Championships -- IN A WORD: DEFENSE; Redskins Counting on the Big 'D'

By THOMAS GEORGE,

Published: January 12, 1992

Correction Appended

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11—
The Washington Redskins' plucky defense will go up against the Detroit Lions' sassy run-and-shoot offense Sunday in the National Conference championship game, and the Redskins' defensive coordinator, Richie Petitbon, says that his defense is pitted against a Babe Ruth. He also says that he will rely on a few coaching principles of John Wooden and that his players will need Richard Burton's style.

Huh?

"Well, first, that Barry Sanders is a special running back, maybe the best ever, a home-run hitter and a real Babe Ruth," Petitbon said wryly, referring to the Detroit star. "I've always believed you draw in your philosophies from all sports, and the great U.C.L.A. basketball coach, John Wooden, always made an impact on me with defenses that never were afraid to lose, that took chances, that changed the tempo. We're going to do that in this game. And finally, one of the ways you do it is with window dressing. You show 'em one thing, you're in another, and when you act on it best, it's your Richard Burton look."

Oh.

If Petitbon sounds a bit unorthodox, he is. And if anyone can solve the Lions' run-and-shoot offense, he can.

In four victories this season against run-and-shoot teams -- all at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, the site of Sunday's game -- Petitbon's defense allowed an average of 9.3 points a game. The Redskins' offense has long been noted for its imagination and creativity, but Petitbon said his defenses in those categories "sure ain't shy."

Washington usually employs a four-man line and off it spins a combination of 80 to 90 different defensive packages. That number has been reduced to a base package of 15 for the Lions, but Petitbonwon't hesitate to reach deep into his pocket and pull out another.

Unlike other defensive coaches who stick to their game plan against the Lions and make stopping Sanders priority No. 1 (notably the Dallas Cowboys last week in their 38-6 drubbing by the Lions), Petitbon and his defense arrive with a complete arsenal of schemes. But like the others, Petitbon admits that everything starts with Sanders.

"If you can't stop the running game, you die," Petitbon said. "You just can 't survive unless you do that. Everything falls into place after that. You get third-down passing situations where you blitz and where you can tee-off for the quarterback. That's what we'd like. We want to make their quarterback have to choose from a lot of options, to confuse his reads. We're going to play a lot of fronts, a lot of coverages and a lot of different people."

Actually, the Redksins might opt for a third-down-type defense on first downs. They might choose to pressure Lions quarterback Erik Kramer from the start and take their chances on Sanders running draw plays, possibly even keeping a spying-type linebacker in check, specifically responsible for Sanders on delay runs.

Petitbon said the Redskins have an idea of what the Lions' point of attack might be, but what he will do is play wait-and-see and then respond. And the Redskins are masters of that.

"We've got a coaching staff that's been together for a long time, knows each other and draws off each other," said defensive end Charles Mann. "They have been extremely organized this year, even more so than in the past because we haven't been to the Super Bowl in four years and they want to taste it again as bad as the players do. For the same reason, we've lifted weights twice a week during the season, sometimes even three times. Everybody on this defense has given a little extra. Nobody has cut corners."

"One of the reasons we've gotten better," he went on, "is because we're made to feel comfortable with the schemes in practice. We go all out against the practice squads and they have given us some clever looks. Sometimes, we've had better competition from our practice squads on offense during the week than we've had on Sundays. They do a great job of nearly perfecting the other team's offense." Fair-Weather Offense

The Redskins' head coach, Joe Gibbs, said that his offense has adopted some run-and-shoot principles, but that his organization has never considered using that offense because it prefers power football. Too, he said, the run-and-shoot has shriveled in cold and bad weather and thus far has not proved a championship offense. The Lions, he said, are a different breed and an unusual test.

Gibbs said that a couple of years ago, during the off season, he brought in run-and-shoot gurus to Redskins Park to study how to defend the offense. Can you blitz against it? Gibbs asked. No, we love the blitz, was the response. Can you play zone? No, we attack zones. Do you worry more about the big run? No, the big pass kills you most.

"We left that meeting demoralized," Gibbs said.

Petitbon said the Redskins have had success against the run-and-shoot this season because his defense emphasizes having its best-athlete defenders on the field at all times.

"The run-and-shoot puts a premium on you having athletes," said Petitbon, who is in his 14th season as a Redskins defensive coach. "We've got the best athletes now that we've had since I've been here, but we're not a dominating defense like the Philadelphia Eagles. We need help from the offense and the special teams." Sanders 'Changes Everything'

"I think we were a pretty good defense last year," he continued. "This year we're better because the other components of the team are better. In playing the run-and-shoot, everybody has to worry about space. There's plenty of it because they spread the field. Sure, we beat Detroit, 45-0, the first time this season. That was without Barry Sanders in the game. That man changes everything."

Mann, linebacker Wilber Marshall and cornerback Darrell Green are the only Redskins who are on the field regardless of the defensive alignment. Others contribute for special situations, such as defensive end Jumpy Geathers in the pass rush. Geathers, Petitbon said, might be the strongest Redskin. "Our guys in practice can't block him," he said.

Danny Copeland arrived as a Plan B free agent from Kansas City and moved from cornerback to safety, where he now starts. Washington has played more zone in the secondary than it has in recent seasons, and safety Alvin Walton said the secondary has gelled because each player has improved his technique individually and collectively.

This may be the critical key to Washington's defensive success and its hopes against corralling Sanders and the Lions.

"We always look at defense from the offensive perspective," said tackle Tim Johnson. "The coaches listen to the players' suggestions. And most of all, they look at the talent and ask, 'What is it that this guy can do best?' Once they find it, that's what he does. A lot of coaches will put in a scheme and say this is it, play it. Not here. When you've got 11 guys complementing each other on the things they do best with a solid scheme in mind, you've got a good defense."

Photos: The Washington Redskins' defense is effective against the run-and-shoot offense, as it showed last week against Atlanta. (Jose R. Lopez/The New York Times)(pg. 1); Redskin cornerback Darrell Green is on the field for every defensive play, regardless of alignment. (Jose R. Lopez/The New York Times)(pg. 2)

Correction: January 13, 1992, Monday A sports article about the Washington Redskins yesterday misspelled the name of the team's defensive coordinator. He is Richie Petitbon.